Itzhak Perlman

Playing chamber music outdoors is not a great idea. Playing it outdoors in January is a dreadful idea. Still, it was good to see Itzhak Perlman and three colleagues perform (well, mime to a taped performance, anyway) at the Obama inauguration. A little visibility for classical music in the broader culture, even if youre already probably the worlds most famous violinist, cant hurt. Tonight, with pianist Rohan de Silva, hell play meat-and-potatoes sonatas by Handel and Beethoven, then Olivier Messiaens 1932 Theme et variations. Its based on a droopy, heavily perfumed, Baudelaire-stoned-on-absinthe sort of melody; over some 11 minutes, the variations get prickly in the middle, then ecstatic, then dreamy at the end. (Perhaps Baudelaire had a vision and fell asleep?) Itll be an interesting piece to hear from someone renowned for his ingratiating sweetness of style and tone. And after that: Additional works to be announced from the stage, reads the program, which means a handful of dessert-y pieces. No problem, when theyre played by the violin worlds supreme confectioner. GAVIN BORCHERT